Seattle Visit

A bus to Portland? Ouch. No seats on the Cascade train?

 

Bolt is quicker and cheaper. I do not understand all the Amtrak love. I even prefer Grayhound over the train.

 

You did that on purpose, didn't you?

 

And I have found the bus to be smellier, messier, louder, and generally unpleasant. The Cascade in particular is comfortable, there's room to roam around, and there are outlets to keep all of my laptops, smartphones, etc. plugged in and operating so as to avoid conversing with a live person.

 

I believe they sell beer too, no? (maybe not very good beer, can't recall, but beer)

I've had a few conversations with colleagues at work who commute downtown by ferry. Plenty of room, a tasty beer on your way home after a long day at work ... what a contrast with the Metro bus I take every day, where these days (post-service cuts) I'm lucky just to be one of the privileged few in line who get to board the bus, let alone find an actual seat.

 

http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/764/510/Amtrak-Cascades-Train-Cafe-Menu-2013.pdf

 

Is this like some Seattleandia phenomenon that we passionately discuss transportation options on a beer thread? Love it.

We are a fun group...and Bolt beats the shit of other options.

 

Maybe. Maybe knot.

 

Because, because, because, .... Edit this:

"We were sitting out back of Solera Brewing drinking Long Division Sours and enjoying incredible views of Mt. Hood's Eliot glacier, when my head almost exploded because an app kept changing it to 'Elliott' glacier."

 

They also usually don't check your bag. So I always just bring my own beer. Made that 38hr trip from Portland to Minneapolis much more bearable.

 

How about this.

"We were sitting out back of Solera Brewing drinking Long Division Sours and enjoying incredible views of Mt. Hood's Eliot glacier, when my head almost exploded because an app kept changing it to 'Elliott' glacier. 'Fuck this stupid app,' I exclaimed, and threw my phone into Emil Creek."

 

I have a friend that works for Amtrak. He constantly reminds us ( because he knows us), that if they catch you drinking your own alcohol on the train, they will put you off at the next stop, and not sell you another ticket from that stop. hasn't stopped us yet tho. The seats on Bolt bus are just as good as Amtrak, has plug-ins and wifi, and doesn't stop between Bham and Seattle. Bolt is the way to go! Plus, a PDX-MPLS trip is the reason they invented airplanes. 38 hours on the train?!? Egads..

 

Hah, made this mistake once. Took an early train down to Portland with a bunch of friends. Everyone was equipped with various coffee/breakfast beers for a good start to the day. We didn't realize it wasn't allowed so we made no attempt to hide it, and the conductor was NOT pleased with us. Thankfully we weren't thrown out, but man, chugging half a bomber of Espresso Yeti in the bathroom while I "poured it out" was both terrible and wonderful.

 

Another reason why 12oz cans are the best beer containers.

 

Yeah, it was actually a lot of fun other than the sleeping part. But damn, hadn't heard they'd kick people off... That would've blown being left in the middle of a Dakota or eastern Montana. The crew coming back from CHI to PDX must've really really not cared then. To Minneapolis there were a few people with stuff but nothing super obvious. A lot of Portland-esque types of people heading to Minneapolis, Chicago, or somewhere big on the east coast. But the train back was all eastern Washington, eastern Montana and Dakota people. On the way back people were taking swings of jaeger out of the bottle, having bottles of cheap wine, a guy had 40s, and I had some of Surly and other stuff. Nobody ever said nothing.

 

Maybe the Cascade train is just a bunch of tight-asses?

 

I think Sixgill had hockey on the last time I was there. You should just give them a call.